U.S. Patent Office Disclosure Documents No. 437867 (filed May and stamped Jun. 12, 1998), entitled MultiCell Reactors, documents the conception of the invention in the winter of 1997. Different configurations of the invention were documented in U.S. Patent Office Disclosure No. 454163 (filed February and stamped Apr. 15, 1999) entitled Surface-Flux MultiCell Reactors. Since then embodiments of the invention have been demonstrated. Methods for constructing MultiCell is given in Disclosure Document No. 446749 (filed October and stamped Nov. 2, 1998), entitled Metal-Film Patterns Produced by Ink-Jet and Metal-Reduction Processes. 
This invention generally relates to reactors, and more particularly to a thermo-electrochemical reactor where stored potential energy is activated by electrical charge.
Batteries and electrolytic cells are two different types of electrochemical reactors. Batteries combine chemicals and convert potential chemical energy to electricity. Whereas, electrolytic cells use electricity to produce metals (e.g., copper and sodium) and gases (e.g., hydrogen and chlorine). Neither batteries nor electrolytic cells have historically produced large quantities of heat. In general, heating results from the joule heating of the electrolyte.
It is therefore the object of this invention to utilize a reactor of MultiCell type construction for the efficient production of non-joule heat.
It is yet another object of this design to reduce the overall resistances within the reactor to reduce nonproductive joule heating and increase fluxes so that more of the voltage drop around the surface of the cathode to encourage efficient heating.
It is yet another object of this design to encourage efficient heating by further increasing the voltage overpotential near the surface of the cathode via inducing a charged-particle boundary layer at the cathode.
It is yet another object of the invention to promote quick charging and production of non-joule heat by using a small cathode size and high fluxes.
It is yet another object of this invention to demonstrate that tungsten, nickel, platinum and other possible electrically conductive materials can work as cathode materials.
It is yet another object of this invention demonstrate that platinum and other possible electrically conductive materials can work as anode materials.
It is yet another object of this invention to supply hydride or hydrogen ion (H+) forming electrolyte to complete the electrical circuit between the anode and cathode.
It is yet another object of this design to utilize a reactor of MultiCell type construction having a small cathode, large anode, small gap, and of arrangement to focus and channel fluxes, etc. that are capable of repetitive replication within a reactor for increased total power output.
It is yet another object of this invention to show that the anode and cathode patterns can be made by etching, plating, and other mechanical methods.
It is yet another object of this invention to show that the anode and cathode patterns can be made by a unique method of printing the patterns with an ink-jet printer apparatus.
It is yet another object of this invention to show that the anode and cathode patterns can be made by yet another unique method of using a metal-compound paint that reduces to the metal via application of heat.
It is yet another object of this invention to show that further metal can be plated on the patterns mentioned above by electroplating methods and selective plating can be accomplished by applying current only to parts of the pattern.
It is yet another object of this invention that the heat will be in the useful form of heated or boiling water-based electrolyte solution and steam.
The present invention will frequently be referred to as a xe2x80x9creactorxe2x80x9d hereafter to distinguish from traditional batteries and electrolytic cells and their designs. The present invention concentrates on cathode generated heat. The desired cathodic processes occur at the surface or in boundry layers at the cathod. In this disclosure, these are referred to as xe2x80x9cdesired cathodicxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cdesired boundry layerxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cnon-joulexe2x80x9d heating processes or reactions.
The present invention discloses various embodiments that provide high electron (exe2x88x92) and hydrogen ion (H+) fluxes and focus these fluxes around the cathode electrode. The high fluxes can quickly produce and maintain a high equilibrium concentration of hydrogen and hydride(s) near the surface of the cathode, which is considered to be important in the production of large quantities of useful heat that will be referred to as xe2x80x9cefficient heatingxe2x80x9d hereafter. The high current (electron flux) and the high hydrogen-ion recombination rate near the surface substantially increase the voltage overpotential and can exponentially increase internal pressures near the surface of the cathode which also encourage efficient heating. The invention configurations presented concentrate fluxes by focusing fluxes through narrow bridgeways, forcing a collection of fluxes to pass through common channels, and/or passing the fluxes through thin layers of electrically conductive material at the surface. The high fluxes allow rapid heat production with essentially no charge-up time (seconds or less).
Desired conditions for efficient heating are considered to be (1) high electron flux, (2) high hydrogen-ion (proton) flux, and (3) high voltage overpotential around the electrode surface to produce high hydrogen recombination pressures that drive the reactions. The present invention does this while reducing less productive, joule-heating (resistance heating) losses in the cell. Joule-heating losses increase exponentially to the formula in Equation 1.
Pjoule heating=V2/Rxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(Equation 1)
Where:
Pjoule heating is joule-heating losses
V is the overall voltage across the cell
The joule-heating losses are exponential and can easily overshadow desired heating processes in the reactor. However, and fortunately, if enough voltage (depending system internal resistances) is applied and the current (electron flux) is high enough, a gaseous or a charged-particle (plasma) boundary layer develops at the electrode""s surface. Formation of the boundary layer is characterized by a blue glow at the electrode and a sharp increase in the overall resistance of the cell (e.g., amperage drops with increased voltage). This resistance via the charged-particle region directs more of the voltage drop around the surface of the cathode, which can increase more of the desired overpotential near the surface of the cathode. The present invention further takes advantage of the phenomena by reducing cell resistance and forcing voltage drop (with the desired fluxes) around the electrode surface, where it is desired. These combinations, in the case of the invention, appear to overcome the joule-heating losses and allows for more efficient heating.
Noting the above-described scenarios, a reactor""s design should be designed for the lowest voltage possible and have most of the voltage drop near the surface of the cathode. This implies making significantly smaller cathodes and larger anodes than used in standard cells and moving the anodes and cathodes closer together. This increases the efficiency, but the total output may decrease because of the smaller cathode. However, putting multiple cells in parallel can offset this. Also, for economical reasons and even greater efficiency, the cells are designed as compact units for mass production much like a printed circuit board.
The present invention, also referred to as MultiCell hereafter, because the unique design of a xe2x80x9csinglexe2x80x9d MultiCell (or a MultiCell unit) takes credit for efficiencies due, in part, to its small size but, again because its unique design, allows repetitive replication of the unit (much like a component on a circuit board or computer chip) to acquire the desired power output. MultiCells have been immersed in an electrolyte bath to produce boiling water. Demonstrations were performed with common electrolytes (e.g., K2CO3) and ordinary water. The inventor has demonstrated MultiCells that produce more useful heat than equivalent applied electrical power.
This invention is directed to a reactor design and a unique way of electrolyzing and heating water containing a conductive salt in solution. The reactor requires a non-conductive housing to hold the solution and allow immersion of the reactor components. The reactor housing and solutions may house a single reactor unit (or referred to a MultiCell unit) or plurality of reactor units to increase total power of the reactor. Each unit consists of a cathode, which is small with little surface area, and its surface is small in comparison to the anode to increase current and proton (hydrogen ion, H+) density at the cathode and reduce overall joule-heating losses in the reactor. Also, the high proton flux helps maintain a high-hydrogen or hydride concentration near the surface of the cathode. FIG. 1 shows a basic MultiCell configuration and its expected electrical current flow patterns. Also, a part of the unique design is a narrow gap between the cathode and anode. This narrow gap reduces losses due to joule heating and concentrates more of the voltage drop near the surface of the cathode where it is desired. Also, the general small size (surface area and thinness) of the unit reduces the paths and length of paths outside the region of the electrodes and concentrates the voltage drop and hydride production around and near the surface of the cathode where it is desired. Circles are shown in FIG. 1 because they produce the simplest design and produce the highest proton flux near the cathode surface. FIG. 2 shows how a plurality reactor units can and have been clustered together to increase power. Note how each reactor unit has its own cathode, but shares common anode area. This arrangement allows for better consolidation and easier construction. Also, notice that the anode is thinner along the outside perimeter of the cluster. This is done so each cathode receives equal voltage and current as demonstrated through experimentation. Included in FIG. 2 is a graph that shows the flux at the cathodes as a function of voltage and number of MultiCell units in a cluster. Notice that the flux is high even at 3 volts and appears to be rather uniformly spread between cathodes.
Two different constructions to deliver power to reactor""s cathodes and anodes are shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. These designs lend themselves to circuit-board or computer-chip type construction.
The design has been applied to other geometries as well. These designs may not allow as high a flux over the entire cathode surface, but allow focusing of fluxes or the passing of fluxes through common bridgeways, and thus, producing hot spots. Also, this design can be easier to construct for experimental development purposes. FIG. 5 through FIG. 7 shows non-circular designs that tend to concentrate fluxes toward the connecting base of the electrode. (Note: this is where most of the test runs have failed due to erosion and is no surprise. Further development should overcome this problem.) Most of the experimental data and detailed description in this patent are of this type design. Notice that in FIG. 6 the fluxes are forced to funnel through pinch points and all the fluxes need to pass through a common region (disc) next to the cathode collector. Further experiments need to be done to determine if these hot spots are beneficial or a hindrance to the overall performance of the reactor.
During operation of the MultiCell, there is a blue glow or discharge around the cathode. This glow does not happen until 50 to 100 volts are applied. The exact voltage depends on configuration, electrolyte concentration etc. While increasing voltage from zero, the current continues to increase until the blue glow appears (FIG. 9). Then the current sharply drops indicating a sharp increase in resistance. The inventor proposes that the electron flux and voltage exert just enough counter-pressure to push the electrolyte solution away from the surface of the electrode when the blue glow starts. This forms a new surface/interface where the hydrogen ions (protons, H+) and electrons (exe2x88x92) merge and interact (FIG. 10). Further increases in voltage result in further increases in the fluxes (current) that pass through the boundary layer. This is beneficial to efficient heating reactions because of increased particle density. More importantly, the inventor also proposes that extra flux is accompanied with extra voltage overpotential (and particularly hydrogen-recombination voltage overpotential) at the interface region. Only moderate increases in the voltage are needed to greatly increase pressures at the interface since the relationship of voltage overpotential to pressure is to the 4th powerxe2x80x94according to Michio Enyo and Tafel theories which have been confirmed by experiment.
Even though the reactions happen near the electrode, more of the reactions do not actually happen in the surface of the electrode. This implies that the material makeup of the electrode and the electrolyte are less important. The solvent itself (water), at the said surface/interface (FIG. 10), supplies xe2x80x9chydridexe2x80x9d and sites where the prescribed pressures form. In summary, the required interactions for potential energy conversion may be more conductive at the charged-particle boundary layer and its surface/interface than at the electrode because of the noticed greater voltage drop at the said boundary layer than the electrode.
This patent application is for the apparatus and methodology, not for any underlying theory. However, the invention and designs presented, herein, were conceived with the desired theory in mind. The theory is only presented to give credence to the concepts behind the invention designs described herein. Better theories may be developed that explain the efficient heating phenomena, but they do not change the results, designs, and claims documented within this Patent Application. The fact is that the MultiCell invention produces more heat than electrical power supplied and this heat comes from the conversion of some form of potential energy within the contents of the reactor housing when electrical current is applied.
It is therefore the object of this invention to utilize a reactor of MultiCell type construction for the efficient production of non-joule heat.
It is yet another object of this design to reduce the overall resistances within the reactor to reduce nonproductive joule heating and increase fluxes so that more of the voltage drop around the surface of the cathode to encourage efficient heating.
It is yet another object of this design to encourage efficient heating by further increasing the voltage overpotential near the surface of the cathode via inducing a charged-particle boundary layer at the cathode.
It is yet another object of the invention to promote quick charging and production of non-joule heat by using a small cathode size and high fluxes.
It is yet another object of this invention to demonstrate that tungsten, nickel, platinum and other possible electrically conductive materials can work as cathode materials.
It is yet another object of this invention demonstrate that platinum and other possible electrically conductive materials can work as anode materials.
It is yet another object of this invention to supply hydride or hydrogen ion (H+) forming electrolyte to complete the electrical circuit between the anode and cathode.
It is yet another object of this design to utilize a reactor of MultiCell type construction having a small cathode, large anode, small gap, and of arrangement to focus and channel fluxes, etc. that are capable of repetitive replication within a reactor for increased total power output.
It is yet another object of this invention to show that the anode and cathode patterns can be made by etching, plating, and other mechanical methods.
It is yet another object of this invention to show that the anode and cathode patterns can be made by a unique method of printing the patterns with an ink-jet printer apparatus.
It is yet another object of this invention to show that the anode and cathode patterns can be made by yet another unique method of using a metal-compound paint that reduces to the metal via application of heat.
It is yet another object of this invention to show that further metal can be plated on the patterns mentioned above by electroplating methods and selective plating can be accomplished by applying current only to parts of the pattern.
It is yet another object of this invention that the heat will be in the useful form of heated or boiling water-based electrolyte solution and steam.